Many Catalan adjectives open a slot for the person, thing, or action to which the quality applies. That slot normally begins with a selected preposition: content de la notícia, capaç de reaccionar, interessat en astronomia, d'acord amb tu, favorable a la proposta. The preposition belongs to the adjective's argument structure; it is not chosen afresh from the English translation.
The adjective itself remains variable—it agrees with the noun it describes—but the linking preposition is comparatively fixed. This page teaches the five highest-payoff frames as complete collocations. They are standard across Central, Valencian, Balearic, Northwestern, Northern, and Alguerese Catalan; regional pronunciation changes do not alter the written patterns.
The broader adjective complements inventory covers less frequent frames and clause-level variants.
Pattern grid
| Stored frame | Core relation | Typical complement | Clitic for a recoverable thing |
|---|---|---|---|
| content de | cause of happiness | noun, person, infinitive | en: n'estic content |
| content amb | satisfaction with a result | noun or person | hi: hi estic content |
| capaç de | ability or possibility | noun or infinitive | en: n'és capaç |
| interessat en | domain of interest | noun phrase | hi: hi està interessada |
| d'acord amb | agreement or conformity | person, proposal, standard | hi: hi estem d'acord |
| favorable a | support or beneficial orientation | proposal, person, infinitive | hi: hi són favorables |
Content de and content amb
Content de commonly presents what causes the feeling, especially a person, news, or an action: content de tu, content de la visita, content d'haver vingut. Before a vowel, de elides: d'haver, not de haver.
Estic content d'haver acceptat la feina, encara que el primer dia ha estat intens.
I'm glad I accepted the job, although the first day has been intense.
Els avis estan molt contents de la visita dels nets.
The grandparents are very happy about their grandchildren's visit.
Content amb readily evaluates a result, service, arrangement, or collaborator: content amb el resultat. The meanings overlap with nouns, and speakers may choose a different perspective. The infinitive, however, normally follows de.
La clienta no està contenta amb la reparació i vol parlar amb el responsable.
The customer isn't satisfied with the repair and wants to speak to the manager.
The adjective agrees: content, contenta, contents, contentes. Its complement does not control agreement. Les jugadores estan contentes del resultat remains feminine plural regardless of masculine resultat.
Capaç de: ability, potential, and evaluation
Capaç de + infinitive attributes the capacity to perform an action. With a noun, it can mean capable of producing or committing it: capaç d'una gran generositat. English also uses “of,” but that coincidence should not be generalized to other adjectives.
La nova bateria és capaç de funcionar deu hores sense recàrrega.
The new battery is capable of running for ten hours without recharging.
No la subestimis: és capaç de resoldre el problema tota sola.
Don't underestimate her: she is capable of solving the problem all by herself.
In context, ser capaç de can be admiring, neutral, or critical. És capaç de mentir per evitar una multa evaluates a troubling possibility rather than a skill.
Per evitar una discussió, seria capaç de callar una informació important.
To avoid an argument, he would be capable of withholding important information.
If the action is already known, en replaces the de-complement: No crec que en sigui capaç. Preserve ser and the clitic; ho és capaç incorrectly treats the complement as a direct object.
Interessat en: the domain of interest
Interessat en locates interest within a subject, field, activity, or opportunity. It is common in neutral speech and formal notices. Interessat per is also possible when attention is directed toward something or someone, but en is the safest core frame for a field or topic.
La meva germana està interessada en arquitectura sostenible.
My sister is interested in sustainable architecture.
Les persones interessades en el curs poden inscriure-s'hi fins divendres.
People interested in the course can register for it until Friday. (neutral-formal notice)
Here interessades agrees with persones, while en el curs supplies the domain. The second hi belongs to inscriure's a/en in context; it is not agreement morphology.
When the domain is recoverable, hi replaces the whole prepositional complement:
—Encara està interessat en la plaça? —Sí, hi està molt interessat.
—Is he still interested in the position? —Yes, he is very interested in it.
D'acord amb: agreement and conformity
The fixed phrase begins with elided de (de + acord → d'acord) and selects amb for the person or idea agreed with: estar d'acord amb una persona/idea. There is no article inside d'acord. Spanish de acuerdo con cannot supply Catalan con; English “agree with” cannot be translated by changing the phrase into acordar amb.
Estem d'acord amb el diagnòstic, però no amb el tractament proposat.
We agree with the diagnosis, but not with the proposed treatment.
El pressupost s'ha elaborat d'acord amb els criteris publicats.
The budget was prepared in accordance with the published criteria. (formal)
The first use expresses an opinion; the second, (formal) conformity with a rule. Both store d'acord amb. With a finite que-clause, careful formal Catalan normally drops the preposition: Estem d'acord que cal ajornar-ho. A nominal bridge also works: d'acord amb el fet que....
Tots estem d'acord que cal avisar les famílies avui mateix.
We all agree that the families must be notified today.
Favorable a: support and beneficial conditions
Favorable a can describe a person's supportive position or conditions that benefit something. Before el/els, a contracts: favorable al canvi, favorables als cultius. The adjective agrees with its subject.
Tres grups municipals són favorables a la reforma del mercat.
Three municipal groups support the market renovation.
La humitat d'aquesta vall és favorable al cultiu de l'arròs.
The humidity in this valley is favorable to rice cultivation.
La comissió és favorable a ampliar el termini una setmana.
The committee supports extending the deadline by one week. (formal)
When the proposal is already topical, hi preserves the selected a: La comissió hi és favorable. Omitting hi leaves the intended “favorable to it” relation unexpressed.
Three substitutable frames
- [subject] + estar content/contenta/contents/contentes de + [cause or infinitive]: Estem contents de tornar; La Núria està contenta de la notícia.
- [person] + estar interessat/interessada/interessats/interessades en + [field or opportunity]: Estan interessades en robòtica; Estic interessat en la beca.
- [institution/opinion/conditions] + ser favorable/favorables a + [proposal, beneficiary, infinitive]: L'informe és favorable al projecte; Són favorables a negociar.
Inflect the adjective and copular verb freely, contract the preposition with articles where required, but preserve the relation selected by the frame.
Literal wording, idiomatic function, and a plain alternative
| Frame | Literal organization | Usual function | Alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| estar d'acord amb | be of accord with | agree; conform | compartir l'opinió de |
| ser favorable a | be favorable toward | support | donar suport a |
| estar content de | be happy from/about | be glad about | alegrar-se de |
| ser capaç de | be capable of | have ability/potential | poder |
La comissió accepta la proposta is a comprehensible noncollocational alternative to La comissió hi és favorable, but it is not exactly equivalent: being favorable expresses a stance, whereas accepting is an institutional act. Preferred phraseology carries pragmatic distinctions, not just decoration.
Mini-dialogue
—Estàs contenta amb el nou horari? —Sí, i estic interessada en el curs de tarda. —Creus que seràs capaç de combinar-lo amb la feina? —Sí; la directora també hi és favorable.
—Are you happy with the new timetable? —Yes, and I'm interested in the evening course. —Do you think you'll be able to combine it with work? —Yes; the director supports it too.
The dialogue cycles through four adjective frames. The last hi refers to the plan and preserves the a selected by favorable.
Common Mistakes
❌ Estic interessat sobre la història de l'edifici.
English 'interested in/about' has been translated word by word; the core Catalan frame uses en.
✅ Estic interessat en la història de l'edifici.
I'm interested in the history of the building.
❌ Som capaços a acabar-ho avui.
Capaç selects de, not a.
✅ Som capaços d'acabar-ho avui.
We are capable of finishing it today.
❌ Estic d'acord con la Marta.
Spanish con has been inserted into a Catalan formula; Catalan uses amb.
✅ Estic d'acord amb la Marta.
I agree with Marta.
❌ Els tècnics estan favorables amb el trasllat.
The adjective normally uses ser and selects a for the supported proposal.
✅ Els tècnics són favorables al trasllat.
The technicians support the move.
⚠️ En un informe d'avaluació: «Visca! Estem supercontents amb el candidat!»
The interjection and intensifier belong to enthusiastic informal speech, not an impartial formal assessment.
✅ En un informe d'avaluació: «La comissió és favorable a la candidatura.»
In an evaluation report: 'The committee supports the application.' (formal)
Key Takeaways
- The preposition is lexical: learn content de/amb, capaç de, interessat en, d'acord amb, and favorable a as frames.
- The adjective agrees with its subject; the complement does not control agreement.
- Contract articles normally: del resultat, al projecte, als canvis; elide de before a vowel: d'haver vingut.
- A recoverable de-complement generally becomes en; complements introduced by a, en, or amb generally become hi.
- Before a finite que-clause, formal Catalan often drops the selected preposition: Estem d'acord que..., not amb que.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Adjective ComplementsB1 — Build adjective phrases with selected prepositions, infinitives, finite que-clauses, and the resuming pronouns en and hi.
- Prepositions Selected by AdjectivesB1 — Build Catalan adjective complements with de, a, en, amb, and per while distinguishing required arguments from optional circumstances.
- Preposition Change before an InfinitiveB2 — Understand why selected en and amb may change to a or de before Catalan infinitives, and when current standard usage permits them to remain.
- Preposition Drop before QueB2 — Learn when Catalan drops a governed preposition before a finite que-clause, how formal and informal usage differ, and how to avoid dequeisme and queisme.
- Hi for Prepositional ComplementsB1 — Use hi to resume known complements governed by a, en, amb, or per without confusing them with direct and indirect objects.